2001 Illinois State Redbirds football team

2001 Illinois State Redbirds football
Conference	Gateway Football Conference
Record	2–9 (2–5 Gateway)
Head coach	Denver Johnson (2nd season)
MVP	Boomer Grigsby, Willie Watts
Home stadium	Hancock Stadium
Seasons ←  2000 2002  →

2001 Gateway Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Northern Iowa $^		6	–	1					11	–	3
No. 12 Western Kentucky ^		5	–	2					8	–	4
No. 15 Youngstown State		5	–	2					8	–	3
Western Illinois		4	–	3					5	–	5
Southwest Missouri State		3	–	4					6	–	5
Indiana State		2	–	5					3	–	8
Illinois State		2	–	5					2	–	9
Southern Illinois		1	–	6					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2001 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The team was led by second-year head coach Denver Johnson and played their home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois. The Redbirds finished the season with an overall record of 2–9 and a record of 2–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Gateway. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	at Western Michigan *	No. 16	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI	L 7–48	33,976	[2]
September 8	at Murray State *	No. 21	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	L 17–32	2,661	[3]
September 15	No. 11 Eastern Illinois *		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	Canceled		[4]
September 22	Southeast Missouri State *		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 33–38	7,027	[5]
September 29	No. 19 Southwest Texas State *		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 13–20	12,461	[6]
October 6	at Southern Illinois		McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	L 17–23	9,830	[7]
October 13	No. 14 Western Illinois		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 23–33	6,777	[8]
October 20	at No. 5 Youngstown State		Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	L 30–44	19,171	[9]
October 27	No. 11 Northern Iowa		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 42–14	10,173	[10]
November 3	No. 7 Western Kentucky		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 14–58	6,493	[11]
November 10	Indiana State		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 31–17	5,669	[12]
November 17	at Southwest Missouri State		Plaster Sports Complex Springfield	L 31–48	5,540	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "2022 Redbird Football Media Guide" (PDF). Illinois State University Athletics. p. 67. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
2. Reinhardt, Randy (August 31, 2001). "W. Michigan airs it out on ISU". The Pantagraph . p. B1. Retrieved December 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Childress leads Racers past Illinois State, 32-17". Messenger-Inquirer . Associated Press. September 9, 2001. p. 3B. Retrieved December 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. Reinhardt, Randy (September 15, 2001). "Redbirds return to 11 games". The Pantagraph . p. B1. Retrieved December 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. Reinhardt, Randy (September 23, 2001). "ISU stunned again". The Pantagraph . p. D1. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. Reinhardt, Randy (September 30, 2001). "Not a month to remember". The Pantagraph . p. D1. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
7. Reinhardt, Randy (October 7, 2001). "ISU still can't earn first win". The Pantagraph . p. D1. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
8. Reinhardt, Randy (October 14, 2001). "Nothing special about this ISU loss". The Pantagraph . p. D1. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. Reinhardt, Randy (October 21, 2001). "Redbirds can't kick losing habit". The Pantagraph . p. D1. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. Newhoff, Doug (October 28, 2001). "Bumbling, stumbling". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier . p. D1. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. Herbst, Rob (November 4, 2001). "WKU explodes against ISU". Park City Daily News . p. 1B. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
12. Reinhardt, Randy (November 11, 2001). "Watts provides electricity for ISU". The Pantagraph . p. D1. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
13. Scranton, Lyndal (November 18, 2001). "Football Bears finish on a strong note". The Springfield News-Leader . p. 1C. Retrieved December 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.